Stampede ECS
The Stampede ECS (known as the Blazing Burst ECS in Japan) is an electronic clip system Nerf blaster. It was released on September 9, 2010 under the N-Strike series. It is powered by six "D" batteries. The Stampede comes packaged with a Blast Shield, a pop-out bipod/foregrip, three eighteen dart clips, one six dart clip and sixty Streamline Darts. Details The Stampede features the default N-Strike yellow, black, and orange color scheme. It has digital camouflage detailed on the blaster, much like the Raider CS-35 and the Longstrike CS-6. It does not feature an external priming mechanism, as the blaster is powered solely by batteries. It features six tactical rails, the most of any current Nerf blaster. One is on top of the carrying handle/built-in iron sights, one is on top of the barrel, two are beneath the barrel, and the last two are on both the left and right sides of the barrel. The latter two are covered up when a Blast Shield is attached to the mount atop the barrel. Like most blasters, the jam door is located on top of the Stampede, under the carry handle. It does not have a lock and can be opened at any time to remove jammed darts. Clip release buttons are located next to the trigger, on either side of the blaster. The power lever is on the left side of the trigger as well. Two points for clipping a sling or a carrying strap are located at the back of the blaster near the battery compartment. There are also two points located at the front of the blaster above and below the muzzle. Firing mechanism The Stampede is fully automatic, but a single shot can be fired by pulling back the trigger about for a second. The Stampede features a motorized direct plunger system, giving it unique priming and firing style. Its internals push forward first. In doing so, the Streamline Dart to be fired is pushed into the breech and the blaster is primed simultaneously. The piston is then released to fire the dart using a mechanical equivalent of a slam fire trigger. A return spring (the visible black spring) resets the firing mechanism, letting a new dart rise up the clip. It should be noted that because of its firing mechanism, darts that are not loaded perfectly will become damaged. Consistent use will result in dart missing small pieces on the rear. This does not seem to affect the blaster itself although it will affect accuracy. Weight distribution The Stampede ECS is one of the heaviest Nerf blasters. Most of the weight is located at the rear of the blaster where the huge, D-sized batteries are held, meaning that the center of gravity is backwards from standard firing position. This can be mitigated by adding weight to the front in the form of attachments, but will overall increase the weight. History The Stampede ECS was originally known during prototype stages as the Stampede ECS-50, which would have featured a fifty dart drum. Mock-up packaging was created for the blaster which included the fifty dart drum. The fifty dart drum was cancelled due to complications. The blaster was then changed to the Stampede ECS-18 and finally to the Stampede ECS. Despite the blaster being packaged with clips instead, many websites and shelf labels still refer to it as the Stampede ECS-50. One of the first sightings of the Stampede ECS came in May, 2010, when a NerfHaven user posted an image of the prototype blaster, which then began to circulate forums. It was compared to the Spartan NCS-12 from the Nerf N-Strike video game.SG Nerf: Mystery Nerf Blaster. SGNerf.blogspot.ca The Stampede was the big release from Nerf in 2010. To help promote it, there was a blaster re-release campaign called the Clear Series. Color schemes The Stampede comes in the following color schemes: *N-Strike standard color scheme (yellow, gray, and orange) *Sonic Series (clear green and orange) Modification Voltage modification for this blaster is limited by its ability to mechanically fire, not the failure of its electrical parts. Recommended voltage is from 12 to 16 Volts, but over-heating and jamming problems may then occur more often if fired for too long. Reloading and firing To reload the Stampede, the user must first remove a clip if one is inserted in the blaster. To do so, pull down on the clip release buttons located on either side of the trigger. Load up to eighteen darts into the provided eighteen dart clip and then load it into the blaster. Make sure the jam door is fully closed so that the indicator is green. Turn on the power button and pull the trigger to fire the blaster. Trivia *Some people confuse this with the Stampede REV-12, a blaster featured in Nerf N-Strike and Nerf N-Strike Elite. The only similarities between the two are the names. **Some other people confuse this with the Spartan NCS-12 due to the extensive similarities as well. *The Stampede ECS is the second blaster to appear in the Vortex trailer, the first being a Gear Up Raider CS-35. *The commercial for the Stampede is the longest for any N-Strike blaster. *In some rare cases, if the blaster is turned off while holding the trigger, it may fire automatically when turned back on, even if the trigger is not pulled. *If the Blast Shield is placed in its normal position atop the blaster, the iron sights and top tactical rail will be blocked. By attaching the shield upside down on the front-most bottom rail then the sights are now usable and the top rail can be used to attach scopes. *It has been noted that the internal piston mechanism is heavily reminiscent of the gearboxes found in airsoft (albeit upscaled in size to account for the larger projectile). *Some stores still carry it as the Stampede ECS-50. *It appears, based on several observations with the thirty-five dart drum inserted, that a fifty dart drum would fix several problems with this blaster. It would rebalance the weight, and also make the bipod less awkward to use. *When the eighteen dart clip is used, it is awkward to use with the bipod on a flat surface. Gallery External links * Stampede ECS on the Nerf website *Stampede ECS instructions on the Hasbro website *Stampede ECS on the Walmart website *Stampede ECS on the Toys "R" Us website References Category:Nerf blasters Category:Automatic blasters Category:Dart blasters Category:Electronic blasters Category:Single fire blasters Category:N-Strike blasters Category:Motorized direct plunger blasters